I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 530: Can national policies also be discounted?
This morning court session had reached its real climax at this point.

As for the difficult questions that the officials who opposed Liu Ju had prepared in advance to show their power, there was naturally no need to raise them again. He just reported some routine political affairs such as "asking for money" and "asking for people" as usual, and it ended smoothly.

However, Liu Ju did not give any response on the spot regarding these political affairs that "required money" and "required people".

After all, Liu Che was actually a diligent emperor. All the previous political affairs had been dealt with. He had only been in Ganquan Palace for a few days due to illness. As long as there were no imminent major events, they could wait for Liu Che to come back and handle and approve them personally. There was no need for Liu Ju to take over.

And Liu Ju knew it better than anyone else.

After this morning court session, no matter whether Liu Che was really sick or faking it, he would definitely rush back to clean up the "mess" he had made... No matter how much these people below were expecting or speculating, Liu Che would never die at this time, as the day for the emperor to take over was still far away.

What Liu Ju urgently needed to deal with now was actually the three people who stubbornly refused to leave the Xuanshi Hall:
Sang Hongyang, Gongsun He and Han Shuo.

As for Huo Guang, after retiring from court, when he saw that Sang Hongyang, Gongsun He and Han Shuo were reluctant to leave and had determined and solemn expressions on their faces, he hesitated for a moment and finally turned around and left.

This guy has his own considerations and his own style of doing things.

Didn’t you see that during the reign of Emperor Zhao of Han, after Huo Guang and Sang Hongyang became political enemies, Huo Guang organized the famous Salt and Iron Conference specifically to attack Sang Hongyang, but he himself did not attend the entire conference?

There was also Du Zhou. After seeing Huo Guang leave, he also quickly walked out of the Xuanshi Hall.

This cruel official was very clear about his position. The reason why he had become so close to Liu Ju recently, apart from some previous friendships, was mainly and most publicly because Emperor Liu Che had issued an imperial edict, ordering him to assist Liu Ju in handling the case.

No matter what Liu Che's situation is now, it is not time for a change of emperor yet. His master is still Liu Che, and it is not appropriate for him to have his own opinions on some matters.

The departure of Huo Guang and Du Zhou immediately prompted more hesitant ministers to make up their minds and follow them out of the Xuanshi Hall.

Soon, only Sang Hongyang, Gongsun He and Han Shuo were left in the hall.

"They haven't left yet?"

Liu Ju was drinking tea in the back hall and raised his eyebrows at Guo Zhen who had just returned from the front hall.

Guo Zhen frowned and replied:
"In reply to Your Highness, only Sang Nong Ling, Gongsun Taifu and General Han are still standing in the palace, requesting to see Your Highness, and I am unable to persuade them."

"Then call them in."

Liu Ju nodded, then turned to look at Zhao Qian, who was huddled in front of a desk in the back hall with several attendants drafting an imperial edict, and waved his hand.
"Attendant Zhao, and the rest of you, please draft the imperial edict somewhere else, and then send it to me for review when you are done."

"promise."

Zhao Qian and others quickly agreed, and then hurriedly retreated with the secretary of the morning court.

There is a small room next to the Xuanshi Hall, which is called the Shangshufang.

The so-called Shangshu, together with Shangguan, Shangyi, Shangshi, Shangyu and Shangxi, are collectively known as the Six Shangs. They are in charge of documentary matters. Originally, this was an ordinary position similar to the mail room. However, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, in order to further strengthen the imperial power, political affairs were no longer exclusively entrusted to the prime minister and the chief censor. Most of the core power was transferred to the inner court and the Shangshu eunuchs, making the prime minister and the chief censor become decorations.

This naturally became the most dissatisfied issue for a group of officials headed by the prime minister and the chief censor. Who doesn't want to hold power?
……

After a while.

"I have met His Highness!"

Sang Hongyang, Gongsun He and Han Shuo entered the back hall under the guidance of Guo Zhen.

As soon as the three men saw Liu Ju, they knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Liu Ju as if they had discussed it beforehand.

"Ah, Sang Nong Ling, uncle, and father-in-law, please stand up quickly. Why are you doing me such a great honor? Aren't you embarrassing me?"

Liu Ju immediately stood up and jumped to the side, then went forward to help the three people up one by one.

Kneeling was not actually popular in the Han Dynasty. Unless it was a specific occasion or situation, ministers did not need to kneel even when meeting the emperor.

What's more, Liu Ju was not the emperor yet, and Gongsun He and Han Shuo were his elders in law, so such etiquette seemed a bit excessive.

"Your Highness, I dare to ask you to temporarily withdraw your order. Do not rashly issue an edict to implement the 'Imperial Examination System' and the 'Land Measurement Order'!"

Although they refused to get up, they struggled and knelt on the ground and spoke in unison.

After that, Sang Hongyang added as a representative:

"We understand your highness's painstaking efforts for the country and the people!"

"In fact, Your Majesty has been aware of the problems of the official selection system and land annexation many years ago, and many of the decrees issued before were aimed at these two issues."

“However, governing a large country is like cooking a small fish, so a ruler with virtue values ​​tranquility and does not value reform.”

"These two problems have been ingrained for a long time. If we want to change them, we have to divide and conquer them, take it step by step, and reform them gradually from the outside to the inside. Otherwise, the interests of too many people will be involved, and if we are not careful, we will lose everything."

"That is why His Majesty has never made such drastic reforms as Your Highness. Your Highness, please put the overall situation first and do not act on your own, otherwise it may cause unrest!"

Gongsun He and Han Shuo also quickly echoed:
"Yes, Your Highness, you must not forget this matter. You should think twice before you act!"

"If Your Highness really has this intention, you should plan before you act!"

As early as when they stayed in Xuanshi Hall and refused to leave, Liu Ju already knew what they were thinking. Hearing their admonition, he was not surprised at all. He just smiled and said:

"I understand your painstaking efforts, but I also have my reasons for doing this. This will ensure the smooth implementation of these two national policies. If you want to know, please stand up and speak first."

"This……"

Having experienced so many things together before, the three of them naturally did not believe that Liu Ju was really a fool. After hearing what he said, they finally exchanged glances, then slowly stood up, eagerly waiting for Liu Ju to explain.

Liu Ju did not keep the secret and asked with a smile:

"What do you think, if my father were to personally push for these two national policies, would they be able to be implemented?"

"Even if Your Majesty is so brave and pushes forward these two national policies, it is likely that unrest will still inevitably occur, but it should be less of an obstacle than what Your Highness encountered."

The three of them answered without hesitation.

"So if I can get an additional 100,000 troops from my father to help prevent and suppress unrest on top of the existing army, can it be implemented?"

Liu Ju asked again.

"..." The three of them knew what reinforcements Liu Ju was referring to as soon as they heard it. In addition to the existing army, the Han Dynasty could also transfer additional reinforcements, which naturally came from the Western Regions... This was a relatively pure army, and had no ties with the Han Dynasty's ministers and princes and nobles. If used to prevent and suppress unrest, it might be more useful than the Northern Army.

and so……

Sang Hongyang couldn't help but say:

"Your Highness must know that once unrest occurs, no matter how effectively it is suppressed, it is the Han people who will suffer the consequences and only the Han people will suffer. Therefore, Your Highness should first consider how to avoid causing unrest."

"In addition, your majesty has been ill recently and cannot personally handle state affairs. This is a time when people's hearts are unstable."

"Therefore, Your Highness's assumption is not valid. Especially at this time, Your Highness should act more cautiously, otherwise the possibility of causing unrest is very high!"

His words were tantamount to tacitly agreeing with Liu Ju's words.

If Liu Che had personally pushed for these two national policies, with the additional reinforcements of more than 100,000 troops, he would still be able to "make money without doing anything", but he might end up with a loss-making result.

Liu Ju just smiled without commenting, and then asked:

"Then if my father personally pushes forward these two national policies, and there are more than 100,000 additional reinforcements, and the officials who supported the national policies at the morning court today also give their full support."

"And these two national policies are not as absolute as I said at the morning court. In fact, they can be discounted."

"For example, although the imperial examination system will be promoted in the future, some of the systems of appointment and selection based on merit can be appropriately retained. For another example, although the land measurement system will be promoted, those who actively cooperate with the land measurement or reduce the land tax for farmers can retain a certain percentage of their cultivated land or be exempted from taxes for a certain number of years, or make some other concessions."

"If so, do you think these two national policies can be implemented without causing unrest?"

"This……"

Sang Hongyang, Gongsun He and Han Shuo looked at each other again.

They felt that Liu Ju's assumptions were becoming increasingly outrageous...

If all the four prerequisites mentioned by Liu Ju are met, there is indeed a great possibility of implementing these two national policies without causing unrest.

But is this possible?

Especially to gain the support of those officials who raised their hands to vote in favor of the national policy at the morning court today, or to gain their full support, is simply a fantasy.

Anyone could see that those people did not truly support Liu Ju at all. Instead, they took the opportunity to push Liu Ju into the fire pit, waiting for unrest to be caused so that they could reap the benefits while watching the fire from the other side of the river.

It should be noted that whether a court can implement its policies depends on the cooperation and support of these officials.

After all, those who have the closest ties with the middle-level officials, grassroots officials and local prominent families and powerful people are not the emperor, the prince, or the royal nobles, but these officials sitting in the court. Each of them represents the interests of a group of people.

This is also why Liu Che, although he established the inner court, also abolished the post of Taiwei.

However, the reason why the prime minister, the chief censor and the nine ministers were always retained was that if they cooperated with the people below and secretly disobeyed the orders, it would be difficult to actually implement the government orders.

However, they had not thought of Liu Ju's statement that "national policies can also be discounted".

In any case, Liu Che would never have done this before. After all, the emperor's words were final, and the most taboo thing was to change his orders every day. If there was any national policy that had to be compromised, it would have been implemented before the edict was issued. He would never be like Liu Ju, who first announced the national policy in the court and then thought about how to compromise it.

So what is Liu Ju thinking at this moment?
He should not be unaware of the negative impact this would have on his fame and reputation, right?

"You three don't need to guess any more. I can reveal to you a fact. My father is in good health and will be back to take charge of government affairs soon."

Seeing the three people frowning, Liu Ju finally stopped playing coy with them and continued with a smile,
"As for those officials, we just need to give them some motivation and pressure, and they will do their utmost to support these two national policies and not be distracted."

"Instead of worrying about these, you three should think carefully about how to make this discount when all the prerequisites I mentioned are met, and to what extent can we squeeze out all the value of these two national policies... Sang Nongling has been studying this matter for a long time, and he should be able to accurately grasp this degree and help my father get this done."

"Leave the rest to me."

……

"..."

After coming out of the Xuanshi Hall, Sang Hongyang, Gongsun He and Han Shuo seemed to have something very heavy on their minds. No one spoke, but just lowered their heads and walked towards the Jinma Gate together.

After walking for quite a while, Sang Hongyang finally let out a long sigh, shook his head and said with emotion:

"Having a son like this is not only a blessing for your majesty, but also a blessing for the Han Dynasty..."

"Who would have thought that His Highness would risk his life to fulfill His Majesty's long-cherished wish, and even risk his future fame and reputation for this."

Gongsun He also sighed,
"If my rebellious son can be eleven times as good as His Highness, my life will not be lived in vain."

"Ugh--"

Han Shuo just sighed and said he didn't want to talk.

As a father-in-law, he really didn't want Liu Ju to do this, but things had come to this point and he had no choice.

By this point, they had already understood that Liu Ju was playing a trick of "demolishing the house", but it was Liu Ju who proposed to demolish the roof, and Liu Che, under Liu Ju's encouragement, became the one who finally made the decision to open the window.

Naturally, all the infamy and criticism were borne by Liu Ju, while all the good people and benefits belonged to Liu Che and the Han Dynasty.

However, what makes them most curious now is how Liu Ju will make a large number of officials headed by Shi Qing, Zhang Gan and Han Qianqiu fully support the national policy, and where will the motivation and pressure he mentioned come from?

Although they had already noticed during the morning court session that the lining in Liu Ju's hand was unusual and very likely to be a handle against these people.

But the weight of handles also varies.

They could see that those officials raised their hands to support Liu Ju's two national policies at the morning court not entirely out of fear of the lining, but more of a retreat to advance, taking the opportunity to praise Liu Ju to death.

In other words, the leverage Liu Ju had was not strong enough. Although it could make them hesitate to act rashly, it would still be difficult to force them to submit, so they had to do their utmost to support him.

No one knows better than those people how to pretend to obey something while doing so, and to deceive their superiors and subordinates.

Even Liu Che often said, "Having talent but not using it to its full potential is the same as having no talent at all." There is no good way to deal with this...

(End of this chapter)